Murder charges stand for Middletown driver accused of killing cop

Thursday

In the final moments of his life, Philadelphia police Officer Brian Lorenzo was seen smiling while riding his police motorcycle.

Lorenzo grinned at Alisha Bullock, whose car was going a little too fast on northbound I-95 in the city near Cottman Avenue.

“His motorcycle pulled up next to me and he just smiled at me,” she testified in Philadelphia Municipal Court Wednesday. “I took my feet off the pedal to slow down.

“Just then, after that moment, I heard a boom,” she testified. “His motorcycle went down and his body flew.”

Bullock testified that she never saw the car that struck Lorenzo’s motorcycle head-on. But police said it was driven by John Leck of Middletown, who was intoxicated and driving southbound in the northbound lanes of I-95 shortly after 3 a.m. July 8. Lorenzo had been heading home from work in full uniform at the time.

State police accident investigator Charles Burkhardt said there was no indication of braking or emergency maneuvers by Leck after he struck Lorenzo’s motorcycle.

“It appears he just drove right on through the crash,” Burkhardt told the court during Leck’s preliminary hearing.

Some spectators left the courtroom in tears as graphic details about the accident emerged.

Lorenzo’s body was thrown 21 feet from the crash site, said Burkhardt. His helmet was found 255 feet away and his handcuffs 172 feet from the point of impact, Burkhardt testified.

Even as those images played out on a courtroom projector, the defendant appeared void of any emotion. Leck’s eyelids remained half closed. His bottom lip protruded out from a patchy and untrimmed beard. Leck is on medication and still recovering from injuries sustained in the crash, said his attorney, Michael Parlow of Bensalem.

“Certainly, there’s no evidence that my client intended for this to happen,” said Parlow. “He was really drunk and got on I-95 going the wrong way, but it wasn’t malicious.”

Assistant District Attorney Jacqueline Coelho countered that “maliciousness can be determined by a totality of circumstances” and she cited cases in which other defendants were judged guilty based on “sustained recklessness.”

Burkhardt testified that Leck passed nine warning road signs and another 52 road signs facing the opposite direction before the crash. “The highway is screaming at you that you are going the wrong way,” he told the judge.

The judge held Leck for trial on all charges, including aggravated assault, homicide by vehicle, homicide by vehicle while under the influence, murder, driving while under the influence, and involuntary manslaughter.

No bail has been set in the case. Leck is scheduled to appear next in Philadelphia Court Oct. 17 for his arraignment.

Lorenzo was buried July 13 at Resurrection Cemetery in Bensalem. At the burial, many of his colleagues reflected on his famous smile.

Lorenzo could light up a room with his expression, fellow Patrolman Michael Ricciardi had said.

“He always had a smile,” Ricciardi added.

James McGinnis: 215-949-3248;

email: jmcginnis@phillyBurbs.com

Twitter @James_McGinnis

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